Twenty-fifth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

This research focuses on the development of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) in four primary teachers during a professional learning course. The course consists of two parts: a) a theoretical framework, concerning the explicit introduction of PCK in inquiry-based learning, and the teachers’ engagement in a Teaching-Learning Sequence (TLS) concerning Material Science; a practical phase during which teachers designed and implemented their own TLS in real classrooms. We assume that if the teachers are explicitly familiarized with the PCK components, namely Pedagogical Knowledge, Content Knowledge and Context Knowledge, and if they reflect on their own PCK along with the implementation of the aforementioned TLS, then their PCK will be developed towards the use of multiple inquiry learning environments in their teaching practices. Educational material for the explicit PCK introduction was developed consisting of worksheets, reflective tasks, Power Point transparencies and a teacher’s guide. Data were collected by the use of tools such as Content Representations (CoReS), semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and the researcher’s notes. Content Analysis was employed in the data analysis procedure. Results indicated that teachers fruitfully designed and implemented inquiry approaches such as modeling and using tools to gather, analyze and interpret data.